Kojima Hiromichi is the ace batter of the Lycaons - a notoriously weak baseball team that is often ranked at the bottom of the league. Determined to lead the team to victory prior to his retirement, Kojima takes a trip to a training camp in Okinawa, hoping to discover what factors the Lycaons lack.

Here, he happens upon a game dubbed "One Outs" - a gambling derivative of baseball - and is soundly defeated by a blond pitcher named Tokuchi Toua, who is claimed to have never allowed a hit in any of the 499 games he has played.

Kojima realizes that he has found the 'missing factor' and makes a wager with Tokuchi. Little does anyone know that the outcome of this gamble will dictate the fates of the Lycaons and all those connected to the team.

One of my top favourites manga! Despite not being a big sport fan, I absolutely love the whole psychological aspect of it! I've watched the anime and i instant loved it! When there was no more videos left, I was sad, but then I realized that there was a manga version which extended! You don't know how happy I was!

It also didn't help that he reminds me so much of Hiruma in Eyeshield 21, who I absolutely LOVE!

Manga blew my mind. I watched the anime to get through the first 10 vols without reading and it's mad beautiful animation despite having released a couple of years ago. Then the manga is amazing 'cause Tokuchi is so badass you start rooting for him to win even though he's pretty much cheating. Obviously

Spoiler (mouse over to view)

Kojima's existence becomes secondary :( but he was still viable regardless

You know that feeling of great loss after finishing an amazing manga? I felt like crying after finishing One Outs

what a beautiful mind do kaitani sensei have, to concoct such an exciting, elaborate and thrilling mind games on a sport. i dont understand a lick of baseball terminology, but the twist and turn here just grasp me to the end. gosh, he is god.

I'ts fun, exciting, mind-blowing story that you just keep waiting for the new chapter everydays. you wouldn't expect from such a simple bet can expand to that level of issues. the writer really great at expanding the story, character whilst keeping the main character history is the dark. its recommended read..

btw a lot people compare this main character Tokuchi Toua with eyeshield 21's Hiruma Youichi. well I agree that they're both are the same level trickster, devilish but with different approach. Hiruma more prefer to slice enemy is one slash while Tokuchi prefer play around and makes enemy drown in regret.

Tokuchi is an amazing character even to the end. Although his baseball skills are average he's the extremely evil super genius whose power to decipher and controls everyone's actions allows him to become a threat to every team that plays against him. Amazing character, suspenseful plotline that keeps you guessing and most of all, a very satisfying ending. I think the extra sequel volume is unnecessary but it's quite good as well, so it's worth reading. Highly recommend this to anyone who likes psychological warfare. Ah, only minor issue is the mangaka writes One Outs assuming you know something about baseball so not everything is explained in detail which made me a tad confused since I know nothing about baseball

I thoroughly enjoyed the manga, the description doesn't quite do the manga justice... it doesn't show how brilliant of a character Tokuchi is. If you've read Eyeshield 21, Hiruma would be the equivalent of Tokuchi. Except in this case, the story is centred around Tokuchi, rather than a weak character who develops into an amazing player. Tokuchi starts out as a genius and never gets to be any more or less so of a genius.

Evidently, I'm a complete fan of Tokuchi. His antics never cease to amuse me. The story is great, albeit much of it is still untranslated.

It's similar to H2 in the sense that Kunimi Hiro started off as a star player and never stopped being one. He only messes up because of luck or factors outside of his control. However, the focus of One Outs is psychological tactics rather than simply improving skills. There's also no romantic subtext.

I'm not a person whose really into sports but I am totally in love with this manga. It's not a baseball manga about being the greatest baseball player/team but rather it's a baseball manga where the players try to out smart eachother. I think this manga has everything it has psychological elements, sports, gambling and a badass male lead.

This blew me away. It is most definitely focused on baseball, but psychology plays a larger part. It's just so good, I find myself suddenly laughing out loud at some outrageous occurrence or when I'm finally filled in on what new psychological attack Toua has come up with.

Unfortunately, there is a huge 53 chapter gap in the translations.Although I have only read up to chapter 31 at this point (which was sadly left on a huge cliffhanger...), I am now turning to the anime to fill me in.

HIGHLY Recommended. (: This coming from someone who doesn't usually pick up these sports manga, much less anything regarding psychology. This has definitely opened my eyes. (:

One Outs is not a manga that concerns itself with the rules / techniques of baseball or a particular player's rise from being the disadvantaged underdog to a famous prodigy. This is more of a story about gambling and psychological play with the baseball diamond as its stage.

Certain readers complain about Toua Tokuchi's "unnatural brilliance." While I don't deny that his unparalleled genius is somewhat lacking in realism, it's rather enjoyable to come across a protagonist who's full of confidence and is not floundering in a sea of conflicting emotions or unnecessary worries; a man who knows exactly what he wants and has the mental capabilities to achieve those goals. Anyone who appreciates calm, ruthless, intelligent characters will doubtless enjoy following Tokuchi's tactical manoeuvres throughout the story. The question is never: "Will Tokuchi win?" but rather: How will Tokuchi (and the Lycaons) win?" (And more often than not, your guesses will be completely wrong!)

"Lack of character development" is the other primary complaint of the critics. But in my opinion, it's not necessary for a protagonist to have a tragic past, a complicated family background, or a dead lover in order to be realistic and relateable. These are adult men and professional baseball players. For them, the time of doubt, emotional turmoil and romantic entanglements is long gone. If that's what you're looking for, I'd recommend trying something like Major or H2 instead.

That being said, character development of a type entirely different from the norm is actually present, as becomes especially apparent in the latter half of the series. The evolution of the Lycaons players' willpower, confidence, tactical prowess, and team spirit (which, unlike in typical sports series, has nothing to do with friendship and more to do with pride and professionalism) is carefully laid out over the 20 volumes, and is a pretty interesting thing to watch out for.

The anime adaptation's very good -- actually even more exciting than the manga since the animation is able to convey the high-speed actions on the playing field far more effectively than static pictures (regardless of how skilfully drawn they may be) can. Either way, it's necessary to watch the anime before reading volume 10 of the manga, in order to bridge the gap in the scanlations.

Overall, a very interesting story. Even those who don't normally fancy sports themes might like to attempt this, as the psychological aspect is more fascinating and prominent than the actual game.